DGCA to hear residents through video conferencing

Surat: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) scheduled personal hearing of the residents of 198 buildings whose height is obstructing the flight path at Surat airport, through video conferencing between July 7 to July 10.
Following the directions of the Gujarat high court on the writ petitions filed by the residents, the DGCA served fresh notices to the residents of the 198 buildings on June 19 and fixed the hearing dates through video conferencing.
Sources said that once the personal hearing is conducted, the DGCA will file report placing on record its decision taken on the buildings obstructing the flight path at Surat airport before the HC. The final hearing in the case is scheduled in HC on July 27.
Earlier, the DGCA had fixed the personal hearing on March 19, but due to the lockdown the hearing was adjourned.
In December 2019, the HC had ordered the Centre, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on the unauthorised construction obstructing the flight path at the Surat airport.
The DGCA’s personal hearing has been organised after the Gujarat HC ordered to take up the issue of the building height obstruction at the war footing. The issue pertains to construction of buildings one metre to 14.3 metre higher than the permissible limits in the inner horizontal surface limit.
HC had slammed the AAI and the SMC (Surat Municipal Corporation) for their inaction and ordered them to issue notices for the demolition of construction of the buildings which do not even have Building Use Permission (BUC).
The clearance of obstacles in the approach surface of runway-22 at Vesu side means that the aircrafts landing will be able to use the full-length of 2,905 meter runway, instead of the current 2,290 metre.